9 of 10Old-fashioned knobs and buttons make a comeback in the 2015 MKC, replacing the futuristic and somewhat confusing capacatative input devices.

Photo by Lincoln

10 of 10Much of the hard plastic found in the new MKZ is replaced by materials that are far more pleasing to the touch.

Photo by Lincoln

Outside

It would be easy to call the 2015 Lincoln MKC the vehicle that will make or break the Lincoln Motor Co., but that's not entirely accurate. Frankly, Lincoln can't afford any more missteps for the foreseeable future: Every new car it releases moving forward must be at least fairly successful to keep the automaker afloat.

Instead, we'd consider the MKC a good indicator of whether the brand has what it takes to move beyond the muddle of recent years and truly excel. To prove Lincoln naysayers wrong, the MKC needs to be more than a moderate success -- it needs to be a hit. If Lincoln can't sell this car to premium crossover-hungry buyers, what can it sell?

That's a heavy load for one model to bear. Fortunately, the MKC might just be up to the challenge.

The rear hatch of the 2015 Lincoln MKC is a single piece of hydroformed metal. We're glad it made the leap from concept to production. Photo by Lincoln

Inside

For a product this important, the backdrop for our introduction to the MKC -- the garage of the historic Edsel and Eleanor Ford House -- certainly carried a suitable amount of historical weight. When not hosting product reveals, Edsel's garage is home to a small fleet of classics, including the famous Edsel Speedster. During our visit, it was empty save for the pre-production MKC and a gorgeous first-generation Continental convertible.

We were expecting the production MKC to be a dulled-down version of the sculpted concept we saw at the 2013 Detroit auto show. We were surprised. Beyond the addition of necessities like door handles, the production-ready MKC doesn't feel like a compromise at all -- in fact, on sporty 19-inch split five-spoke wheels that could have easily come off a Q5 or an X3, we actually think the real car looks better than its slightly exaggerated concept counterpart.

There's a lot going on beneath the MKC's sculpted haunches to make the look possible. While the MKC rides on the ubiquitous Ford C1 platform, its track has been widened almost an inch compared to that Blue Oval-wearing Small Crossover That Shall Not Be Named.

From the spit-wing grille (elegant in this particular application) to the large tailgate made out of a single piece of hydroformed steel to door-mounted rearview mirrors to the requisite LED daytime running lights, there are a lot of details to take in. But while the polarizing Lincoln MKZ also boasts its fair share of clever touches, the MKC seems like a far more complete, far more intentional package. It's not a styling revolution, but it feels designed, rather than merely engineered, to fit on a pre-existing platform.

The interior of the 2015 Lincoln MKC betrays its Ford roots if you know where to look, but material quality seems high. Photo by Lincoln

Powertrain

We couldn't spot a square inch of Ford-shared sheetmetal on the MKC's exterior, but the interior wasn't as successful at shaking the Ford family feel.

Gone is the concept car-like floating “bridge” center console found on the MKZ, replaced with a more conventional infotainment stack that looks a lot like what you'll see in the Ford Small Crossover That Shall Not Be Named.

Also gone? Capacitive switches -- those sleek, futuristic non-tactile input devices that no one can seem to figure out, designers and engineers included. Old-fashioned buttons and knobs have made a comeback; we're not complaining. Dash-mounted gear selection buttons like those on the MKZ are found just to the left of the MyLincoln Touch infotainment screen.

The crossover gets the requisite boatload of technological features, including lane-keeping, a blind-spot information system, driver-awareness sensors and an available park-assist feature that will help you get into, and out of, tight parking spaces. Further, the MKC's built-in, always-on wireless Internet connection (an increasingly widespread bit of tech, but a first for Lincoln) lets owners control vehicle temperature, lock or unlock the doors or even find the vehicle in a parking lot via a smartphone app.

A careful eye will spot seams in molded plastic components here and there (we're not sure if production vehicles will sport the same minor defects) yet touch points all felt good -- to us, better than those in the MKZ. Leather was soft; contemporary-looking, satin-finished wood trim was actually wood; and much of the hard plastic found in the new MKZ sedan was replaced by materials far more pleasant to the touch.

With the exception of the seats, we were told that everything we saw comes standard. We're not sure what the seat covering options or possible interior upgrades are at this point.

The standard MKC is a 2.0-liter EcoBoost four, but you'll be able to upgrade to a 2.3-liter EcoBoost. All-wheel drive is an option for both engines. Photo by Lincoln

Who is it for?

The Lincoln folks made it almost all the way through their MKC presentation without uttering the E-word: Escape. Even then, the only MKC-related talking points in which the Escape was mentioned had to do with powertrain selections, and even then, it was only brought up to differentiate the upcoming luxury crossover from its popular cousin.

The MKC's standard powerplant is Ford's 2.0-liter EcoBoost four; a top-level upgrade on the Ford Escape, it produces 240 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque. Those who want a bit more power, however, can elect a 2.3-liter EcoBoost four with an output of 275 hp (at 5,500 rpm) and 300 lb-ft of torque (at 3,000 rpm). You won't find that engine on the Escape, but the rumor mill suggests it might just surface as the turbo-four option on the 2015 Mustang. Lincoln didn't give us any fuel-economy figures.

Front-wheel drive is standard in all MKCs, but either engine choice comes with optional all-wheel drive. The six-speed automatic is the only transmission.

Wood is wood, aluminum is aluminum and leather is (in many cases, at least), leather. We liked the interior of the MKC better than that of the MKZ. Photo by Lincoln

When will we see it?

With the introduction of the MKC, Lincoln is entering a market jammed with options from sportier brands like Audi, Cadillac and BMW that, let's face it, have far more premium cachet these days.

We're sure Lincoln will be giddy if the MKC succeeds at appealing to a younger, more female demographic here in the United Sates, but one market where it must succeed is China. The brand isn't taking any chances in the cash-flush country, testing boutique hotel-like dealerships complete with waterfalls, pedestal displays for vehicles and glass-walled lounges where owners can watch technicians repair their cars (counterfeit parts and back-alley service are, apparently, a concern in that part of the world).

Yeah, we'd be lying if we said we weren't a little bit jealous of the prospective Chinese Lincoln buyer right now.

Expect to see the Lincoln MKC next summer. Prices should start at around $34,000. Photo by Lincoln

If Lincoln dealers had their say, they would have had the MKC on their lots yesterday. They're going to have to wait until summer 2014 to get the vehicles, however. MKC production is slated to begin in Louisville, Ky., during the second quarter of next year.

Lincoln officials didn't give us a full pricing breakdown, but the most basic MKC -- a 2.0-liter equipped FWD vehicle -- will set you back $33,995. If the crossover's price structure is anything like that of the MKZ, a well-equipped 2.3-liter AWD MKC could sticker at somewhere in the $40,000 range.

That's a lot to pay for a badge-engineered Escape. Fortunately for Lincoln, the MKC doesn't come across as a barely cloaked Ford. Differentiating itself is a feat it pulls off far better than other vehicles in the Lincoln stable.

We're eager to explore its road manners next year and intrigued to see what else Lincoln's design studio might create now that it seems to be firing on all cylinders.

We expect to learn more about the MKC at the LA auto show next week, so stay tuned for updates.

Graham Kozak
- Graham Kozak drove a 1951 Packard 200 sedan in high school because he wanted something that would be easy to find in a parking lot. He thinks all the things they're doing with fuel injection and seatbelts these days are pretty nifty too.
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